North Region (329)

Fraserburgh Link-Up Under 17s made it into the quarter-finals of the Raymond Kelly Association Trophy with a 7-0 win over Cove Youth on Saturday.

The Broch took the lead on 13 minutes when a Luke Kinsella assist found Caden Beaton who struck home the opener. Kinsella was to assist again on 22 minutes with a fantastic ball for Andrew Molloy before a minute later it was 3-0 with Ryan Strachan netting.

Centre half Owen Blackhall made it 4-0 on 29 minutes before Kinsella netted a deserved goal to make it 5-0. Fraserburgh did very well in the second half to keep the momentum going and scored two extra goals with Matthew Beaton and Andrew Parry scoring.

Fraserburgh Link-Up Under 17s coach Brent Bruce said, "Cove worked hard in the first 20 minutes on what was a big pitch but I think we controlled it however it was still a tight scoreline before adding a couple more which settled the nerves.

"Obviously we got a couple more goals which made it 5-0 at half time which was a fantastic scoreline to go in at half time with before seeing out the game professionally without any hiccups with has been the case in previous cup games and it's good to see the players developing and learning from previous mistakes.

"The pitch helped big time for us, some of the grass surfaces you get aren't the greatest however playing on the astroturf helped, it give us more space and more time on the ball, our ambition is to develop the players, it's the first year that myself, Ross and Steven have coached these boys.

"The goal is to develop the players not just technically but also on their mentality as well, we hope that these players will go and play at a high standard of Junior or Highland League football, that is the ambition for those players, they are playing A league football which is brilliant.

"Banks O'Dee Albion are a strong team, Lewis United Rangers who we've not played yet and Middlefield who won the league last season and we hope to compete with them, we played Albion and got beat 4-0 but it was 0-0 in the second half so we're looking for that mentality of we can't chuck the towel in at 2-0 down, we want to do better than last season, we picked up 24 points last season so we want to better that points tally."

Forres Mechanics Under 20s registered their first win of the North Of Scotland FA Under 20s a fortnight ago beating a good Brora Rangers outfit 2-1, Forres had two wins last season and picked up their first win in four attempts in the Brora contest. The Mosset Park outfit played Elgin City on Monday night and got beat 5-1 in a local derby.

Forres coach Greig Marr spoke about the Brora game as well as ambitions moving forward when he said, "The win against Brora Rangers was a long time coming, the past couple of results we were unlucky not to win, especially against Lossiemouth, we looked like we were going to win the game however unfortunately couldn't get an equaliser and push on.

"We have worked on march sharpness and not taking too much time on the ball, there was a couple of times in the Brora game when I thought about changing the formation in the first half as it wasn't working, I mentioned to the boys at half time the gap between the defence and midfield and the gap to attack was too much at times.

"Within two minutes of half time, we got an equaliser and basically bombarded them with set-pieces and eventually got the goal needed to go and win the game, we had plenty of chances in the second half, I had to leave my main striker out of the team for other reasons, it was a team performance and we spoke to them after the game and asked the players who they thought was man of the match and there was nobody they could single out.

"The second half performance is what every coach looks from a team and I couldn't criticise anyone based on the display in the second period, I was happy to get the three points and hopefully we can break last years total of eight points, we have had three defeats however the teams we have played are at the top and we beat Brora who will be around that area.

"At Forres Under 20s, we give appearances to players coming back from injury or needing match fitness, we try to develop players that are ready to make the step up into the first team at Forres.

"Nairn County and Lossiemouth are currently below Elgin City in the table and we want to try and push them at the end of the season, the aim as it should be for every under 20s manager is to develop players to get into the first team."

An Invergordon primary school teacher is hoping his contributions to youth football will help him nab the coveted Primary Teacher of the Year prize at the Highland Heroes Awards at the start of next month.

Iain Maciver from Park Primary started running school football tournaments in 2015, and what began as a 16-team event has evolved into Highland-wide competitions, with 75 schools and over 750 children taking part every year.

He told YFS: “I first decided to start football tournaments as there was no school football in Ross-Shire and hadn't been for a number of years.

“It started off as an idea but has grown to be a series of huge tournaments which involve 750 children a year and has built huge community support.”

Iain's original tournament now attracts 30 schools and has over 300 children participating.

But he hasn’t stopped there.

Building on the success of his primary tournaments, in 2017 Iain launched a girls-only competition in Ross-Shire:

“In terms of the girls, there was previously no football for them to play in the area,” he explained. “Many of them had shown interest and even though the large school football tournaments I started were for boys and girls the teams were made up almost exclusively of boys.

“Of the 300 children who attended these tournaments you would be lucky if there were even five girls there.

“In effect, the girls were excluded from taking part as not many were able to get into the school teams against the boys.”

And whilst only seven schools were involved last year, 2018 has seen primary girls’ football really take-off up north – in no small part thanks to the efforts of Iain.

20 schools and over 200 girls took part in this years Ross-Shire event, with a further 20 schools and 250 girls taking part in a Highland tournament that was also organised by Iain.

He said: “In the first year we only had seven schools enter as nowhere did girls football or had even considered having a team – a small number put one together for the day.

“But it was well publicised in the local press and had a great knock-on effect with schools starting girls training and teams with the view to joining in the future.

“Since last year’s tournament I have been contacted by even more people saying they have started weekly girl’s football and local girls football clubs; it’s taken off massively.”

Now, his dedication has been recognised with a Highland Heroes Primary Teacher of the Year nomination; an award for a teacher who has gone above and beyond to enhance the learning experience of their pupils.

Coach Alan Reid says there is a “sense of excitement” around his Lewis United 2006 squad, as they prepare to travel to the Holland Easter Open next year.

The Aberdeen-based club will be joining over 500 teams from 25 countries in the south of Holland next April, and Reid says it’s the talk of the changing room:

“Most of the chat at the moment when you hear the boys talking is about Holland,” he said. “We’ve got everyone on board. Usually, when you go away on a trip there’s one or two that can’t make it, but every boy in our squad of 19 is going, which is great to see.”

The squad and coaches will be joined by parents – taking the total number flying out on Friday April 19th to 46.

So, raising the money to get everyone there hasn’t been easy, but it’s been a team effort, and – as Reid reveals – it’s all been worth it:

“We’ve been fundraising; having horse racing evenings, packing bags in supermarkets and things like that.

“The funds that we’ve raised means all the boys are getting there for free, and there’s still a bit left over for a reduced rate for the parents.”

It’s been a long time coming for this Lewis United team. As Reid explains, it’s been an ambition of his to take this team overseas for almost as long as they’ve been together:

“I’ve had a bunch of kids together for about six or seven years, right through the age groups from 4v4 to 11-a-side,” he said. “From the off I said that once we get to 11’s we’re going to go to a tournament abroad.

“Trans World Soccer brought this tournament to our attention and we figured it would be a great opportunity.”

With a guarantee of at least five matches, it’s a chance for a Lewis United side that are used to dominating games to test themselves against European opposition:

“When we play a lot of other teams in Aberdeen we over-run them a little bit, so I’m looking forward to challenging the boys against a good class of opposition,” said Reid. “It’ll be interesting to see how they handle the different styles of football that they come across.”

But, ultimately, what the team learn on the football pitch is secondary to the experiences they’ll take from the time they’ll spend together.

After the tournament wraps-up on Sunday, they’ll have time to experience Holland – including a tour of PSV’s stadium - for themselves before flying back to Scotland on the Tuesday.

And Reid is confident it’ll be an experience they’ll remember for a long time:

“Just the chance to just see the boys abroad, in a different climate and being altogether for a long period of time will be great,” he said.

“When you’re playing football, you’ve got them for maybe two or three hours at a time, then they go back to their separate little worlds, but it’s good to have them together for five days; travelling, flying, going to stadiums - and especially playing football.”

Limited spaces remain for Scottish teams looking to sign up for tournaments next year. For more information on how you can get involved click here.

Dyce BC has received a six-figure windfall from the transfer of Stuart Armstrong from Celtic to Southampton, the fee will come in three instalments spread over the next three years.

Under the FIFA Solidarity Agreement, all clubs involved in a player training from the ages of 12 to 23 are entitled to a share of the transfer fee. A total of 5% is allocated between each team a player has been registered with from the ages of 12 to 23, From the ages of 12 to 16 they get 0.25% each year and from 16 to 23 they get 0.5%.

This is the second occasion that Dyce has had such a payment for a former player having received an amount from the transfer of Russell Anderson to Sunderland back in 2007.

Dyce Boys Club was formed in 1980 and has 182 boys and 30 girls on their books, other graduates of Dyce include former Aberdeen and Scotland striker Scott Booth who is currently manager at Glasgow City, current Dons captain and Scotland midfielder Graeme Shinnie and Bruce Anderson, the 19-year-old forward who has broken into the first-team squad at Pittodrie this season.

Armstrong met with members of the Dyce BC committee last week in Edinburgh ahead of the big news.

Stuart Armstrong won various trophies during his time with Dyce and played alongside Shinnie and also Andrew Macaskill who is currently playing for Highland League outfit Buckie Thistle and used to play with Inverness CT and Holland Park Hawks SC in Australia.

Armstrong played in the Under 16s Scottish Cup final against Hutchison Vale from Edinburgh and Vale came away with a 2-1 win.

Stuart reached a number of cup finals and was always involved in some keenly contested matches against Albion, under 14s level seen Albion beat Dyce 5-0 in the Eddie Mannall Trophy however Dyce won the double the year later beating Albion 2-1 in the Belmont Trophy final before a Stonehaven Youth Trophy victory for Dyce over Formartine United 3-1.

Under 16s level was undoubtedly Armstrong's most successful season at youth level, alongside reaching the Scottish Cup final, Dyce won the treble and ended Albion winning the league for 3 years on the trot, Dyce won 3-1 against Cove in the Middlefield BC Trophy and also won 2-1 against Peterhead in the President's Cup.

Dyce BC treasurer Len Nicol spoke about the windfall when he said, "Obviously it gives us a life blood, we know that there will be a Dyce Boys Club guaranteed for the next few years without doing any major fundraising, we will continue to fundraise as we have done over the last 38 years, the club get benefits in a lot of ways, how we spend the money hasn't yet been decided.

"We will sit back for a while and decide and take stock before spending the money, at the end of the day, the kids are going to benefit and we are hoping we can purchase something and say we used it from the Stuart Armstrong transfer money, so there is a bit of legacy for Stuart's contribution towards Dyce Boys Club.

"We have lost a number of coaches and the fact that we lost coaches at competitive level probably means a shortage of trophies over the last few years, we decided a few years ago to get the foundations and we spent a lot of time and effort on the non-competitive section, the plan is to get under 19s teams on the go again.

"Hopefully with getting a lot of publicity, it can help our cause for the future and we are trying to grow the club, we have 182 boys registered and 30 girls as well, we have grown again as a club in the last few years.

"Stuart was always one of the better players at Dyce, his skill and the way he played the game was there for everyone to see, he was a slim built lad, you could see as he got older that he was going to make it, he always showed quality.

"We were speaking to Stuart last week, we won all the cups at under 16s level apart from the Scottish Cup and Stuart said that is his biggest regret at Dyce, we were 1-0 up and lost 2-1 and he mentioned he wish they had won the game."

For the first in a series of features on teams travelling abroad for tournaments next year, YFS spoke to Phil Wallace, coach of Culter Alba 2010’s, who will be heading to the Netherlands for the Holland Easter Open in April:

“I actually saw footage on Facebook of this year’s tournament,” he said. “There were teams from our local area that had been over, so I took it to the other coaches and said, ‘look, the likes of Dyce have been. Why can’t we go?’”

Why not, indeed. Through YFS and Trans World Soccer, Wallace was able to get the ball rolling and now Culter Alba’s 16-strong squad of seven and eight-year-olds will be joining around 500 teams from 25 countries across all age groups in the two-day tournament taking place on the 20th and 21st of April next year.

And he’s hoping it will be an experience his young players will never forget:

“I’m just looking forward to seeing smiles on their faces,” he said. “Really, at this age there’s not so much of a competitive element in terms of the football - we are a development team.

“I’m just looking forward to seeing the excitement in their faces and I would be over the moon if we went and enjoyed ourselves.

If we win a match that’s an absolute bonus, but to just go and make memories is all I’m looking for at their age.

“It’s not something I ever got the chance to do when I was playing football for school or whatever, but now I’ve got the opportunity to deliver it to these kids and give them experiences that I didn’t get.”

It’ll be a team effort getting everyone there; as well as the players and coaches, most of the squad are taking a parent with them, meaning 37 people in total will be making the trip – including a family of five that will be driving the whole way.

Of course, large numbers mean fundraising, and Wallace is grateful for how willing people have been to help out.

He said: “We’ve done various things.

“We had a sponsored walk - we decided to do 10k at 10pm on the 10th of August – and we had an afternoon tea organised by the mums; there were cakes, sandwiches, a nail stall and even a Thai massage stall.

“We’ve also organised a race night for November, the response we’ve had has been great.”

As well as the chance to compete against teams from across Europe, Culter Alba will have the Monday to enjoy Holland after the weekends football is all said and done and before they head home on the Tuesday.

But Wallace admits that football is unlikely to be far from the itinerary:

“Trans World has given us the option to do a stadium tour,” he said. “So, I believe a lot of the boys are keen to go along to Ajax or PSV.

“And I daresay someone will have a football between us so our free time will probably be spent kicking that about.”

Limited spaces remain open at the Holland Easter Open. For more information about the tournament, click here.

The action in the ADJFA got under way and lots of goals went in across the grounds and a few early big results along the way as well.

Under 19s

The Under 19s Murray Cup groups saw one home win, one draw and the rest of the results were all away victories. Stonehaven United beat Banchory Eagles 4-1 in Section Three of the Murray Cup group with a draw between Longside and Culter Boys in Group One.

There was away wins for Sunnybank Elite in Group One, Westdyke Thistle in Group Two, Cove Youth in Group Three alongside the victory Stonehaven picked up with wins for Hermes and Inverurie Locos in Group Four.

The B league saw four away wins, Colony Colts won 3-1 at Byron Thistle, Kemnay winning 6-0 at Greyhope along with a 7-1 win for Cove at Kintore and Culter Thistle beating Turriff 4-0.

Under 16s

The Under 16s A league saw all home wins with the exception of Deveronvale winning 3-1 at Stonehaven, Peterhead Jags beat CBC Hilton United 3-2, Banks O’Dee Albion beat Westdyke 5-1 with Colony winning 6-2 against Newtonhill.

Byron Milan and Huntly all got off to a good start with decent home wins over Kintore United and FDS respectively, Donside won 3-0 at Ellon Meadows with a 0-0 draw between Colony Colts and Cove rounding off the action.

Under 15s

League champions Westdyke CC got off to a good start winning 4-2 away to Peterhead with Dyce and West End winning away from home too, the former winning 5-0 at Westdyke Thistle with West End picking up a good 3-1 result at Formartine United.

Colony Park and Newtonhill were both in the hunt for promotion last season and Park put home advantage to full use with a 3-0 win. Donside Juvenile beat Ellon Meadows 4-1 with Northstar recording a big home win. Culter and Glentanar both won away from home beating Banchory and Stonehaven respectively.

There was 50 goals across six C league games, Aberdon and Portlethen won on the road with Kemnay sharing the points with Stonehaven United in a 2-2 draw, City Youth got off to a good start winning 3-1 at Middlefield Wasps with home wins for Deveronvale and Culter United.

Under 14s

East End Lewis Youth won on the road at Colony 9-0 with home wins for Banks O’Dee Albion, Cove Youth and Sunnybank Elite. Ellon Meadows and Middlefield Wasps drew 0-0.

Westdyke got off to a good start winning 4-2 at Peterhead, Portlethen won 3-2 at Fraserburgh alongside Cove United winning at Banchory, Donside Juvenile beat Formartine on home soil 5-1 with a win at home too for Northstar Orange beating Turriff United 5-0.

C league section one saw a home win for Kemnay in the local derby against Blackburn with Northstar winning at Thistle 3-2, Stonehaven Youth beat Newmachar 4-2. C league Section Two saw three home wins for Deveronvale Reds, Insch and Westdyke Thistle.

Under 13s

As you would expect, a couple of high results for teams as group stages to determine which leagues teams would be in got underway, there was Section One wins for Dyce Blues and East End Lewis Gold, in Section Two, Turriff United beat Culter Juniors with Cove edging past West End.

Section Three saw Lewis win on the road with Culter Thistle beating Cove Youth United 6-2. Section Four saw big wins for Formartine United and Stonehaven United.

Deveronvale won the league cup on Saturday thanks to a 4-0 win over Buchan Girls to add to what has been a good season for the Banff outfit so far this season. Vale are top of the league and also play Hibernian in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup alongside winning the league cup. Nadia Sopel got a hat-trick along with a good strike from Laura Grant.

Coach Amanda Allan said, "League positions don't have a reflection on cup finals and anything can happen, we played Buchan last week in a league game which was a completely different game in which we dominated from the start to the finish, but today Buchan turned up and Buchan had nothing to prove to anyone and they gave it absolutely everything and Buchan kept themselves right in the game.

"Buchan made it a physical game for the girls, that was a physical challenge and I think the occasion got the better of some of our players, the nerves took the better of them, when Nadia secured the third goal, things settled and we had been on top more in the last 10 minutes than we were the whole game and Laura Grant also got a well deserved goal at the end for her efforts in midfield.

"It was nice to come away with a 4-0 win and a clean sheet for our keeper but a lot to learn from, the conditions learned how we played today and the goals came from when we played the ball on the ground, the wind interfered a little bit and the ball was taking nasty bounces so for the girls to get the ball down and get the well worked goals was good to see.

"The season isn't over yet and this is just a small part of it as the girls are also aiming to have the league trophy as well but after this performance we like to say we'll keep on going and see out the season as undefeated league champions but you never know, the competition is there for any team to have a go at us and the girls welcome the challenge and we hope the other teams in the league have a good second part to the season.

"We are a relatively young team, the majority of these players can stay again next year and this a completely different team from last years, we have some technical players that can make a difference to us, our goalkeeper wasn't challenged, decision making is something that we will work on as in when to play it long and short."

The Aberdeen & District Juvenile Football Association has announced that Spree Publications will sponsor the ADJFA competitive league for season 2018/19 which commences this weekend (25th/26th August 2018.)

Following a trial run last Christmas, Spree Publications have agreed to sponsor the ADJFA Competitive League with £1000 and they will give the League £1 for every book/app sold by teams, alongside this, teams will get £6 from each book /app sold from the sale of 20 books/apps.

The more enterprising teams can increase the amount of commission the more books/apps they sell. As the books are on a sale or return basis it is a great way to augment your fund raising ability. The sponsorship deal will not be restricted to the competitive teams but will also be rolled out to include the Development age groups playing 4/5/7 or 9 a side non-competitive football.

The Aberdeen & District Juvenile Football Association say that the more books/apps that are sold the more funds are raised for both clubs and the association allowing the league to maintain the affiliation fees at the current level. Customers will also get a free app on their mobile device when they have bought a book.

Spree has previously provided sponsorship to youth and community groups around Aberdeen and managing director, David Wood, is delighted to be continuing to provide financial support particularly as his own son played in the ADJFA.
He said: “Supporting local community groups is at the very heart of what Spree is about. In the 19 years since the launch we have donated more than £2 million to great causes across Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire.

“We also have strong links with the local sporting scene and are really pleased to be able to donate some money to ADJFA and help the players, coaches and their families fund raise and save money.

“In selling our new Spree Books, the teams can help raise money to go towards new kits, travel or even the likes of subsidising club fees.”
To register your team/clubs interest in fundraising with Spree please visit www.spreebook.com or call 01224 621000.

Culter Youth FC are to sponsor the Under 17s Regional Trophy for the 2018-19 season, after the sad loss of Culter United coach Mark McEwan in his long battle against cancer, the association were approached by Culter Youth with a view to sponsoring an association trophy in honour of Mark. As the 17s Regional Trophy had only been in place this past season it was felt this was the appropriate Trophy. All the more so as it will be a competition that Culter United will be playing for next season . Karl Schmitz who took over the reins of the team from McEwan is delighted that the association have granted the honour of naming the trophy after the coach, Culter will fund the trophies.

Goals Aberdeen, based at Inverdee, Aberdeen have stepped in to sponsor the Association’s President’s Cup at the 16s Age Group. It will now be known as the Goals President Cup. GOALS Manger Brian Johnston has been keen to get involved with the association and he is heavily involved with Cove Youth FC.

Johnston said “We have a fantastic facility here and teams in the association can enjoy discounted prices for hires for training and on days when their games has been cancelled.” Ray Riddell, the Development Age Group Secretary is in discussion with Brian regarding the hosting of Super Fives Festivals when they are not playing at the ASV.

Macduff Lions are this week giving youngsters from the local area a taste of the Barcelona Experience. Alberto Manga, Carlos Gimeno and Juanjo Carricondo are the coaches in attendance in the Aberdeenshire town with former Hearts and Inverness CT player, Juanjo.

The players involved get a full Barcelona Experience kit which is designed by Nike, medals and also autographs/photos with Alberto Manga, Carlos Gimeno and Juanjo Carricondo who are all former players of the Camp Nou outfit.

There will be a morning session and an afternoon session, the morning session will be for the more younger kids starting at 9:30am with the afternoon session containing older kids, the morning session is for ages 6-8 ½ with the afternoon session for ages 9-12/13 year olds.

The Barcelona Experience provides specialised training and opportunities based on the learnings of the coaches during their time at FC Barcelona. They teach the Methodology learned at Barcelona teaching children around the world how to develop into a smarter player playing the Barcelona way.

Alberto Manga is no stranger to the Aberdeenshire town having made a visit to Macduff already back in February to deliver a session to the kids in the local area in what was sub-zero temperatures, Alberto and his coaches have certainly took the sun with them this time around though.

Stuart Gray, a coach at Macduff Lions and a former player at Ross County and Hibernian said, “The whole concept of the week is to give kids football and the point is as a parent I was fed up having to travel to things so the closest camp I have been to is Inverurie that would benefit not only the kids but also coaches as well who can pick up stuff from UEFA Pro Licence holders.

“As a club we aren’t looking to get anything out of it, I am looking to see kids have a week of football experience that they haven’t had before, for Macduff Lions we are gaining a lot of exposure with Alberto, Carlos and Juanjo coming across however the ultimate aim is to give the kids an experience they haven’t had before.

“The basis of the morning sessions is a lot of game related work which Juanjo and his team have put together where there is a lot of ball work and game related stuff before the afternoon sessions are more technical and that is just based on the age groups that we have had, the ultimate aim though is the fun.

“We have an excellent 4G facility on our doorstep which is two minutes from my house, we had Alberto across in February and this is what we should be using these facilities for, they are primed for these kind of activities.

“It’s certainly brought something different to here, we ran a session where Alberto was across in February and the kids enjoyed it regardless of the sub zero temperatures, it was snowing and -5 degrees but there wasn’t one kid who stepped out of the session and everybody was engaged and that is the biggest winner for these camps that everyone is engaged from the start to the very end, the sessions are set up in a small but discreet way and the kids are on the ball the whole session."

Juanjo also spoke to Youth Football Scotland and he said: “The weather since we have arrived here has been spot on, British football is attacking football, very quick and we are trying to give the kids the opportunities that they would be brought up as a kid in Barcelona so we are working on more possession, keeping the ball and also players moving into free areas.

“Macduff is a beautiful area, there is nearly 200 kids here this week and Stuart Gray alongside his other coaches do a great job to promote their area, every day is going to be different in our sessions however they will be specific towards the FC Barcelona way, the main priority is the kids enjoy their football.

“I played for Hearts and Inverness and also played in England for two years, the players in Scotland are very passionate and I love the way they love their football and it’s a different way about thinking of football as we are taught a different way in Spain."

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1,350 matches have been played this season with 8,310 goals scored throughout the campaign from Under 13s-19s. This review is an insight into how the season has panned out detailing all the league and cup winners.

Under 13s

The Under 13s A league was claimed by Lewis United Youth, who won the league by a single point over Scottish Cup finalists Cove Youth FC. It was a pulsating end to the season with both Lewis and Cove battling it out in the remaining games. Cove, Banks O'Dee Albion, Ellon Meadows and Deveronvale all enjoyed some great Scottish Cup runs this season.

With 18 wins out of 18, the B League was secured by Culter United, who only conceded three goals in their final seven games of the season. Culter will be a team to watch in the A league next season, Colony Park will go up after finishing second. The C League Section 1 and 2 were won by Turriff United and Northstar Orange, the two sides met in a play-off with Northstar coming out on top winning 5-1.

The cup finals saw a 2-1 win for Banks O’Dee Albion over Cove Youth FC in the Colony Park Cup followed by a 1-0 win for Lewis over Elite FC in the Regional Trophy. The Frank Waugh Memorial Trophy saw a 3-1 win for Colony Colts against Huntly.

Under 14s

Westdyke CC 2004s claimed six trophies out of six since their inauguration to ADJFA competitive football, finishing three points ahead of Dyce. Westdyke made it to the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup before a defeat against Spartans. Thistle FC came into the A league after promotion from the B league and finished a respectable third.

After a mid-table finish last season, Peterhead stepped up their game and won the league by eight points ahead of second place West End who will join the Buchan side in the A league next term. Newmachar Youth FC and Ellon Meadows won the C League Section 1 and 2. The two sides met in a play-off with Newmachar coming out on top 3-2.

Westdyke CC clinched the Winton Trophy and Eddie Mannall Trophy beating both Banks O’Dee and Dyce BC 3-1 repsectively. The Consolation Trophy was won by Mugiemoss Youth winning 2-0 against West End Reds.

Under 15s

Banks O’Dee 2003s have never won the A league before however this situation was rectified last term with Albion finishing six points clear of second placed CBC Hilton, remaining undefeated across 16 games.

It was neck and neck for the B league with Stonehaven City coming out by a point after a 4-1 victory on the final day against Newmachar United. Banchory also go up after finishing in second and both teams will be good participants to the A league next term.

Colony Colts will be playing B League football next term winning the C League with Huntly finishing in second. Colony will be looking to do well in the B league next season.

The cups resulted in a 7-0 win for Albion over Stonehaven City in the Belmont Trophy followed by a 1-0 win for CBC Hilton over Albion in the Stonehaven Youth Trophy. West End United beat Donside United 3-1 in the Consolation Trophy.

Under 16s

The 2002 age group has seen Lewis United Youth or Banks O’Dee Albion claim the A league title however Middlefield Wasps enjoyed a good season last term before going the extra yard to claim A league honours this campaign.

Middlefield had to wait five days to determine if the league championship would be heading for Wasps after Albion played Lewis United and came away with a 3-2 win which meant Wasps could start the celebrations.

Glentanar just missed out on A league football after a play-off defeat to Donside Juvenile and the Woodside outfit have made A league football a reality this season winning automatic promotion, Westdyke will join Glentanar in the A league.

Culter Thistle’s reward for scoring 110 goals in 18 games is winning the C league and promotion to the B league. Lewis beat Albion after extra time in the Castle Trophies Cup winning 3-2 before a penalty shoot-out dictated the outcome of Colony Park vs Fraserburgh Link-Up in the Presidents Cup with the Broch winning 4-2 on spot-kicks after a 1-1 draw.

Greyhope Boys won the Consolation Trophy beating Culter Cobras 4-2.

Under 17s

Banks O’Dee Albion won the 17s A league by two points, Westdyke CC won both the local cups beating Albion and felt a bit aggrieved not to win the league. Westdyke won the Regional Trophy with a 3-1 win over the league winners followed by a 4-2 win after extra time a fortnight later over the same opponents.

Ellon Meadows won the B league title winning 11 games and losing three out of 14 matches, Colony Colts beat Huntly on penalties 7-6 after a 0-0 draw in the Frank Waugh Memorial Trophy.

Under 19s

Inverurie Loco Works won the A league finishing three points ahead of Banks O’Dee Albion. Locos also won the Sunnybank Shield with a 3-0 win over Hermes Youth in what was the last year of Juvenile football for many players involved.

Albion won the Murray Cup with a 3-1 win over Inverurie with Colony Park beating Huntly 3-2 in the Frank Waugh Memorial Trophy.

Last but not least and Peterhead Phoenix rounded off a good season by winning the B league. It was the last year of Juvenile football for these guys and after a play-off defeat to Cove, Peterhead made their intentions known at the start of the season about their ambitions, winning six out of six before a draw against Middlefield Wasps.

Phoenix won the league on the 26th April after a 0-0 draw against Fraserburgh Link-Up.

Inverness CT have also been on the lookout for young and promising players from their youth academy and have signed a whopping 10 new players from their youth academy.

Following their wonder season in 2014 they have endured a run of bad luck and were relegated from the Scottish Premiership in 2017. However, the Inverness supporters should be optimistic as the signing of their youth academy players could bring about a revival of the Caley Jags fortunes.

Kieran Chalmers

Chalmers is a Scottish player from Dingwall Academy and has played for Inverness since he was at the young age of 14. Chalmers is a whole year older than each of the other signings which can be a positive thing as he has better experience than all the other youngsters.

Kieran is a midfielder and will be a great addition to the first team of Inverness CT.

Daniel MacKay

Daniel MacKay is a top striker from Millburn Academy and has been heavily involved with the Scotland Schoolboys under 18s squad. He has stood out among the other players. He has even managed to break into the first team squad. MacKay is the youngest player ever to score and even to play for the club.

Along with these two fantastic players Inverness have made plenty of other signings including four defenders, three midfielders and one striker. The defenders are Gabriel Hastings, Ryan Fyffe, Cameron Harper and Harry Nicolson.

The midfielders are Roddy MacGregor, Jack Brown and Ross Gunn. The striker is Roddy Kennedy.

Manager John Robertson has stated that he is very excited to have such a good array of young talent to rely on and he is encouraging them to make a mark in the under 18s development squad so that they can be called up to the first team.

This year Aberdeen FC have invested some interest in bringing in talented young players from their youth academy. Over the years they have had some great players graduate from their youth academy such as the talented 19 year old midfielder, Frank Ross and 16 year old Dean Campbell, who when making his debut against Celtic last season became the Dons’ youngest ever player.

This year Aberdeen have given eight young players their first professional contracts and we are going to take a closer look into each player and what they have to offer the Dons.

Jack Chesser

Aberdeen born Jack Chesser is a young defender who is also capable of playing in midfield. Chesser has been heavily involved with Paul Sheerin’s under 20s squad. The tall 16 year old definitely has a bright future ahead of him.

Max Barry

Max Barry is from Aberdeen and has played for the academy for over six years. He is a central midfielder with a reputation for having a great shot on him. Barry has a lot of experience at under 17s and under 20s level, which is important because it helps players to understand the level of play in the development league which lets them imagine the higher level in the SPFL. He also goes to the Hazlehead Scottish Football Association Academy in Aberdeen, meaning there will be even greater interest in his development.

Tyler Alexander

Alexander also attends the Hazlehead SFA Academy and plays on the left side of midfield and can also play on the wing. He has a lot of quality on the left side of the pitch and has a cracker of a left foot.

He has a very powerful shot in his left foot, similar to former Queen’s Park Academy graduate and current Liverpool left back Andrew Robertson and if Alexander’s left foot is as good as Robertson’s, he is sure to have a fantastic career at the top level.

Sean Linden

Sean Linden is fully aware of the standard of football required to play for Aberdeen as he has vast experience of the under 20s squad, however he is one of the few players that has only been involved with pro youth football for a few years. Linden has wicked pace and has pinpoint crossing.

The youngster was born in Elgin and attended the Academy of Elgin. He was noticed as one of the top players in a pre-season tournament in St Andrews and if he is to continue playing the same style of football that he is used to, he is sure to be one of Aberdeen’s top players in the future.

Lloyd Robertson

Lloyd Robertson is the younger brother of Sam Robertson who was involved with the great team that won the development league years ago. Robertson is like a chameleon on the pitch and can play in various positions such as both fullback positions and in midfield. Lloyd is very comfortable when he has the ball and has great vision of the game.

He is also very hard to get past. Lloyd Robertson is from Aberdeen and seems to be one of the brightest talents in the youth academy’s defensive side.

Connor Barron

Connor Barron, from Kintore, has been in Aberdeen’s match programme many times. He is a very agile and skilful player and has caps for Scotland’s Under 16 squad and even has a goal to his name against bitter rivals, England. Connor is sure to be in the international first team in the future.

He has been at the academy for a very long time, since he was nine, so has a lot of experience in the pro youth game. He also has helpful experience with the under 20s squad and is a huge talent.

Lewis Duncan

Lewis Duncan, from Fraserburgh, is a player who can play almost anywhere and predominantly plays in midfield both through the middle and wide. However, Duncan has a very good eye for goal and can create a huge chance from the smallest of opportunities.

Lewis is very competent when he is closed down and put under pressure and he can make opportunities in a small space. The introduction into full time training will surely help him develop his skills and become an even more dangerous player.

Kieran Shanks

Finally we have out and out striker Kieran Shanks. Kieran is yet another player who attended the Hazlehead SFA Academy. He has deservedly received a contract not only for his natural talent in front of goal but for his hard-work and determination.

Shanks is very good at holding up the play when he has the ball and once he has fully developed his skills he is sure to be a top striker in Scottish football. Watch out for this talented young player in the future.

The curtain on the 2017-2018 ADJFA season will be closed on Sunday afternoon and there is three cracking cup finals this weekend to close off what has been a fantastic season at all age groups.

Hermes Youth v Inverurie Locos Under 19s

Hermes Youth and Inverurie Loco Works have both had some really tight games this season and this Saturday will be no different. Hermes recorded a 3-0 win at Inverurie back in February on league duty however Inverurie rectified matters with a 2-1 cup win a few weeks later.

Inverurie won the last league meeting between the sides which turned out to be influential in their search for the league. Inverurie won the league whilst Hermes finished third so it will be hard to call a winner on the day. This game is the Sunnybank Shield final and will be a 12pm kick off on Saturday at Heathryfold Park.

Colony Park v Fraserburgh Link-Up Under 16s

The Under 16s A League is arguably the most competitive league in ADJFA football with both Colony and Fraserburgh beating Lewis United and Banks O’Dee Albion respectively in the semi-finals, Colony finished the season in 4th with Fraserburgh ending in sixth.

Fraserburgh have won both league meetings this season winning 3-2 and 2-1 respectively however it’s a cup final and anything can happen. The Presidents Cup final kicks off at 2:30pm on Saturday at Heathryfold Park, the ground is a very notable one for Colony Park having won there last year beating Banks O’Dee Albion in the Belmont Trophy final.

This is Fraserburgh Link Ups first cup final since the 1999 team back in 2016 who beat Banks O’Dee Albion in the Noskab Trophy final.

Westdyke CC v Banks O’Dee Albion Under 14s

Westdyke CC already got the double in the bag and Ellis Renforth’s men have the perfect opportunity to make it three out of three when they play Banks O’Dee Albion on Sunday.

Take nothing away from Banks O’Dee Albion though; they might be on a poor run of late however anything can happen in a cup final and Bruce McGregor’s side will be keen to end the season on a high.

The game kicks off at 1pm at Charlie Gordon Park, Newmachar on Sunday in the Eddie Mannall Trophy.